Year in Review: After being limited to one minor league appearance in 2008 due to a pinched nerve in his right arm, Paulino spent most of 2009 in the Majors. Working primarily as a starter, Paulino showed a solid mid-90s fastball. But despite having the third-highest average fastball velocity (95.4), his heater was not a very productive pitch. Paulino’s wFB/C of -2.36 was the worst in the Majors among pitchers with at least 90 innings. What makes it even more puzzling is that Paulino has an excellent breaking ball, a slider he throws a whopping 31.4% of the time. His trouble comes versus left-handed batters, who posted a .354/.427/.663 line with 14 homers in 209 plate appearances. Homers in general were a big problem for Paulino, who allowed 20 in 97.2 innings.

The Year Ahead: A pitch to throw to left-handed batters would be a big help but Paulino should have better results in 2010 through simple regression. He had a .368 BABIP, a 67.6 LOB%, and a 16.9% HR/FB rate. His ERA last year was 6.27, but his FIP was significantly below that at 5.11, and his xFIP was another full run lower, at 4.10 for the year. Paulino has decent control and his 2.51 K/BB ratio portends good things in the future. His slider is already a pitch that misses bats and his change-up has similar potential, although he used it sparingly last season. If Paulino can refine his change-up or come up with a two-seam or sinking fastball to throw to lefties, he could make a giant leap forward in 2010. He is a top sleeper candidate. (Brian Joura)

Profile: Paulino had been hanging around the Astros organization since 2006, but 2010 marked only the second season in the starting rotation. The 27-year-old continued to rack up the strikeouts (8.2 K/9), but walks became a major issue in 2010. After posting a respectable 3.4 BB/9 in 2009, that figure ballooned to 4.5 last season. Due to a stupendously low 0.4 HR/9, his FIP was a respectable 4.11, but his xFIP was a less impressive 4.54 and his ERA was an unacceptable 5.11. Those poor numbers prompted a trade to Colorado, where it's hard to imagine Paulino turning things around. He's not a ground-baller, and the increase in home runs that he's bound to see at Coors Field should only exacerbate his issues with the free pass. There's also a good chance that Paulino ends up in the bullpen for the Rockies, which could help some of the issues, but either way, he won't be a viable fantasy option. (Jack Moore)

The Quick Opinion: Felipe Paulino throws hard, but it hasn't translated to MLB success yet. He'll get another chance in Colorado, but Coors Field is almost never good news for pitchers.

Profile: For three straight years now, Paulino has shown an above-average swinging strike rate and a strikeout rate close to one per inning. His control is not great, but it's never been too far from his career 3.75 walk rate. He gets ground balls at exactly the league average rate (44%), too. He even has 95 MPH gas shooting from his right hand. So why is his career ERA over five if his career FIP is closer to four (4.18)? It's possible he's a batting average on balls in play outlier (.340 career), but there's also something going on with that fastball of his. It has a wicked platoon split, for one. And he also likes to throw it down the heart of the plate. If he can figure out his platoon issues and get just a little BABIP luck, he could finally put up an ERA closer to his mid-threes FIP from the last two years. That makes him a sleeper. (Eno Sarris)

The Quick Opinion: Armed with 95-MPH gas and legit secondary stuff, Paulino has been getting the strikeouts. One year, the ball will bounce his way and he'll finally put up an ERA with a three on the front. Get him late in your deep league draft just in case it's this year.

Profile: Over four seasons in the National League, Paulino had a 5.93 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and a 2.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Since going the Royals, 29-year-old righty's ERA dropped to 3.55, his WHIP shrunk to 1.34, and his K/BB increased to 2.5. He went from unrosterable in all leagues to starting in deep and AL-only leagues, especially since he showed the ability to strike out nearly a batter per inning. Until the injury last season, his career FIP (4.09), xFIP (4.00) and SIERA (3.94) were all nearly a point better than his career ERA (4.93). When healthy, an ERA around four could be expected if his fastball speed returns to snuff. He will be nice cheap late draft/$1 pickup to place on a team's disabled list until he hopefully returns in July. (Jeff Zimmerman)

The Quick Opinion: Felipe Paulino was turning around his career in Kansas City when his 2012 season was derailed by Tommy John surgery.

Profile: If Felipe Paulino has fantasy value this season, it lies with the possibility that he could get back to pitching like he did for the Royals. For many seasons, he just threw the ball. He had many seasons with plenty of strikeouts and walks and a high batting average on balls in play. The BABIP value led to a career ERA (4.93) which was run higher than other ERA estimators (4.09 FIP, 4.00 xFIP, 3.94 SIERA). With the Royals, he had closer to league average BABIPs (.327 in 2011 and .283 in 2012). In 2012, for the first time in his career, his ERA (1.67) was under his FIP (3.25). Then, he was required to have Tommy John surgery and has not yet pitched in the majors. He pitched seven rehab games, but kept coming up with difficulties. Finally, he had shoulder surgery and was shutdown for the rest of the 2013 season. Going into 2013, it will be almost impossible to have an idea of how he will pitch after not pitching in the majors for almost two years. I would keep an eye on his velocity. He has always thrown his average fastball around 95 mph, so use it as an initial baseline for 2014. Additionally, check to see if he can keep the velocity up over the course of the game. The only way I would roster him to start the season is if I am able to stash him on the disabled list until his talent is known. Otherwise wait and see how his first few starts go before buying. (Jeff Zimmerman)

The Quick Opinion: After not pitching for almost two seasons, Paulino's production is totally going to be up in the air. Take a wait-and-see approach until rostering him.

Profile: Injuries have pretty much killed any chance Paulino reaches his potential. He had promising peripherals in 2011, and looked to be putting things together in 2012 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. It was assumed Paulino would be fully healthy, and ready to help the White Sox in 2014, but he got off to a terrible start. After just four awful starts, it was determined he was dealing with shoulder tendinitis. He made just five more starts in the minors. The White Sox could have brought him back for $4 million, but decided against that, making Paulino a free-agent. He has an intriguing arm if he can ever get healthy, but his climb to relevance will be lengthy. (Chris Cwik)

The Quick Opinion: Injuries ruined Paulino. His potential should get him a job, but he’ll face an uphill climb if he hopes to settle into a desirable fantasy role.